6 things you need to know about freezing your eggs

Freezing your eggs is a potential way for women to prolong their fertility, but why they might want to do this varies drastically. The 2014 HFEA report found that the most common reason given by women for freezing their eggs was having no male partner. Other reasons can include medical treatments, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, all of which have the potential to impact fertility.

1. How do I start the process?

If you're interested in having your eggs frozen, talk to your GP about specialists they might be able to recommend and do your homework into the different clinics available. If you have a health condition like cancer that could affect your chances of conceiving naturally in the future, you may need even more specialised advice.

According to Macmillan Cancer Support, not all women will have time to have their eggs collected because the cancer treatment has to start straight away. For some women there are risks that the fertility drugs may even encourage the cancer to grow.Before your cancertreatment starts, talk to your doctor or nurse about how your fertility may be affected. Your age and planned treatment can help give an idea of your individual risk. Try to think about the questions you want to ask your doctor or nurse so you can get all the information you need. If you have a partner, it's usually a good idea to include them too.

Leanne Barnes, 25, from Sheffield, knows all too well of the reality after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014.

"Being told treatment could affect my fertility broke my heart as I was only 23 at the time. This news was worse than being told I had cancer because since my teens I've always known that I would want a family. In my head I knew I was strong enough to get through the cancer treatment, but the thought of not being able to have children was awful. I was then told I had just a 30% chance of getting pregnant naturally, and I was given the option to have my eggs frozen."

2. How does egg collection work and are there any side effects?

Before your eggs can be frozen, they are collected and you will be given drugs to make your ovaries produce more mature eggs than usual. This is called ovarian stimulation and takes at least two weeks. The drugs can cause some side effects that are mostly to do with changes in your hormone levels. After ovarian stimulation, you will have tests and ultrasound scans to check how the eggs are developing in the ovaries.

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When the eggs have developed enough, the doctor uses an ultrasound inside the vagina to guide a needle into the ovaries to collect them. The collection takes about 15–20 minutes. This can be uncomfortable so you will be sedated while it is done. You can usually go home a few hours later.

The amount of eggs frozen depends on how many eggs are successfully collected. Collecting as many eggs as possible increases your chances of a pregnancy in the future. The eggs are stored in carefully monitored conditions by the fertility clinic. Leanne remembers:

"I didn't have any major side effects from the hormone treatment. I felt quite drowsy and had a bit of a stomach ache. It got me through though knowing I'd have a chance of family at the end of it. If I could give anyone any advice, it would be, if you need more pain relief, ask for it! Eleven of my eggs were saved. It's really weird now to think my eggs are sat in a freezer somewhere in Sheffield!"

3. What's the biggest misconception around egg harvesting/freezing?

Egg freezing is yet to gain popularity in the UK, and the procedure is still shrouded in mystery. We asked Dr. Ahmed Ismail,one of the world's leading gynaecology and fertility consultants from Queensway Gynaecology Clinic, to help us uncover the truth about egg freezing and set the record straight about one of the biggest misconceptions about egg freezing.

Some women worry that their eggs might be lost or mixed up with other women's eggs.

Dr Ismail wants to assure women that there is no need to worry, as this will never happen. There are a number of highly monitored protocols in place during the freezing, labelling and storage stages of egg harvesting that protect the woman's eggs, and the woman's identity.

4. What are the alternatives to egg freezing?

According to the HFEA report, the success rate of using frozen eggs is approximately 14%, almost half that of IVFusing fresh eggs. Keeping this in mind, it's important women look into all their options before making any decisions.

There are two main alternatives to egg freezing; embryo freezing (where the egg has already been fertilized) and ovarian tissue freezing. The latter is a method of fertility preservation whereby the outer layer of one of your ovaries are removed from your body during laparoscopic surgery, and frozen for future use.

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Dr Ismail suggests tissue freezing as a good alternative because it often contains a large number of immature eggs that can be grown and developed using various fertility treatments. According to him, a major advantage of ovarian tissue freezing is the vast number of eggs that can be frozen in one go. i.e. with egg freezing and embryo freezing, most women are able to freeze approx. 10 eggs per attempt. However, ovarian tissue freezing has the potential to allow women to freeze a much larger number of immature eggs – hundreds, if not thousands– for future use.

As soon as the tissue is reimplanted into the woman's body, it regains its natural functions, meaning that immature eggs that were frozen within the tissue begin developing normally and become retrievable through IVF. This is often recommended to preserve the fertility of women with signs of cancer as, when the patient has been cured and is ready to have children, the tissue can be thawed and transplanted back into her body.

Although promising, this method is still incredibly new, with only around 40 babies being born worldwide from ovarian tissue freezing.

5. Who can I talk to if I'm worried about my fertility?

There are always places you can go to for advice, whether you're about to undergo potentially fertility-changing treatments, or if you just want to give yourself the greatest chance of conceiving when you're ready to start a family. Your GP would be a good person to start with, or a fertility specialist. Macmillan information development nurse Hilary Weaver suggests the following for anyone living with cancer:

"If you're worried about cancer and fertility, don't be scared to ask lots of questions. It's really important to get the right information for your situation. So make sure you talk to your cancer doctor before treatment starts. Like Leanne, women often say the idea of losing your fertility is sometimes tougher than the cancer itself. You may find it helps to talk things over with your partner, family or friends. You might already have a cancer specialist nurse who can offer support. And if you're referred to a fertility clinic there will be a counsellor you can talk to."

6. How much does it cost?

Egg freezing is sometimes offered on the NHS based on medical grounds. It's widely available in Scotland, but it differs in England depending where you're based. You can ask your GP about what's available to you and whether they can refer you on for treatment.

Most private clinics charge around £3000-£4000 for the procedure, but you'll want to make sure there are no surprise costs that aren't included in the original quote. The following elements should be all included in the price:

Testing, monitoring, medication and egg extraction

Egg storage

Egg thawing, fertilisation and embryo transfer

Macmillan Cancer Support provides a range of services to people affected by cancer including peer-to-peer support through an online community. For more information call 0808 808 00 00.

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